Newsletter: Essential Politics: President-elect Trump has a long to-do list

America had a message for Donald Trump: “You’re hired.”

There were impromptu celebrations at his Walk of Fame star and Republicans planned victory laps Wednesday in Washington after easily keeping control of the House and Senate.

I’m Christina Bellantoni. This is Essential Politics, in a world where just about all the predictions, projections and polls were wrong.

Save one. For all the criticism the USC Dornsife/Los Angeles Times Daybreak tracking poll received over the last few months, it turns out it spotted what other surveys missed: a wave of Trump support.

We’ll be spending a lot of time analyzing the vote to understand how Trump won, how the Republicans have scrambled the electoral college map and what’s next for each party. Stay with us.

For now, explore our look at what a Trump presidency would look like.

And check out The Times’ front page.

In his late-night speech in New York, Trump said he would reach out to those who didn’t support him “for your guidance and your help.” (Read the full transcript.)

“I pledge to every citizen of our land that I will be president for all Americans and this is so important to me,” the president-elect said.

What kind of president will Trump be? He pledged that “every single American” would be able to “realize his or her fullest potential.”

He added, “We are going to get to work immediately for the American people and we are going to be doing a job that hopefully you’ll be so proud of your president.”

What will Hillary Clinton say today? Her top aide John Podesta offered his message before it was clear Trump would blow past 270 electoral college votes: “She is not done yet.”

You can track every last vote on our maps and stay with us for full coverage of the aftermath.

— Electoral college

— U.S. House

— California results

KAMALA HARRIS MAKES HISTORY

Kamala Harris, the daughter of a mother from India and father from Jamaica, made history Tuesday night. Harris became the first black politician elected to represent California in the U.S. Senate in the state’s history.

Phil Willon reported that Harris, at her campaign’s election night party in downtown Los Angeles, gave a defiant victory speech after clinching the race, aimed directly at Trump. Harris vowed to continue fighting for gun control and against climate change deniers, and she promised to uphold abortion rights, protections for union workers and environmental safeguards. “When we have been attacked and when our ideals and fundamental ideals are being attacked, do we retreat or do we fight? I say we fight!” Harris said.

Orange County Rep. Loretta Sanchez told her supporters late Tuesday night that she was not ready to concede. Nina Agrawal and Christine Mai-Duc report that she added if she does fall short, supporters shouldn’t count her out in the future.

Edwin Power, a Sanchez supporter and the congresswoman’s former neighbor, was somewhat subdued. “I can believe that,” he said of the news that Harris had won. “That’s a shame, but I’m not surprised. She would have had to plant herself in Northern California and picked up a lot more funding to overcome the situation she was in.”

VALADAO REELECTED, HONDA OUT. THESE RACES ARE HANGING IN THE BALANCE

Democratic hopes of reclaiming control of the U.S. House are dashed. Rep. David Valadao held back Democratic attorney Emilio Huerta. Two years after Rep. Mike Honda won a close victory over fellow Democrat Ro Khanna, he was solidly defeated in a rematch.

There were three open seats in the California congressional delegation and two new members, while another race was too close to call around midnight. Sarah D. Wire and I explained what happened on with California’s 53-member House delegation.

We’ll be tracking what happens next and all of the close contests on Trail Guide. Follow @latimespolitics for in the moment coverage.

VOTER VOICES

“Depressed,” “scared,” “unsettled,” “unpredictable” — these are a few of the adjectives people used to describe how the contentious 2016 presidential election has made them feel. After interviewing hundreds of people across the country, Los Angeles Times reporters captured America’s state of mind on election day.

Some memorable quotes:

“It made me feel like this country has gone backwards. I could not believe the comments I was hearing. I couldn’t believe how ugly things had gotten,” said Christine Maclin, 62, from Atlanta.

“Upset because there’s a lot of confusion and corruption, and I want it to be cleaned up. That’s what I want,” 42-year-old Anthony Pagnotta, a Trump supporter, told Times reporter Chris Megerian in White Plains, N.Y.

Beth Lau, 71, of Burbank, said this election has made her feel unsettled. “It’s been depressing. It’s gone on far too long. I don’t think when the results come out I’ll feel much different,” she said.

“I am surprised that it turned into what it was. It’s like the country went through a civil war. I’m surprised that [Trump] went this far,” Jill Stein voter Steve McGill said.

ABOUT LAST NIGHT

— Full coverage of everything we covered Tuesday

— When reality set in for Clinton supporters

— Pot is fully legal in California. Now what?

— California voters legalize pot and expand prison parole, reject repealing the death penalty

— California voters approve gun control measure Proposition 63

— Cocaine, guns and fury: 1 dead, 2 critically injured in Azusa shooting near polling place; gunman found dead

— Inside the push to mobilize Arizona’s Latinos to turn a red state blue

— Dejected? Empowered? The mood among Arizona voters varies by neighborhood

— Exit poll: 47% of Californians trust Clinton, just 17.2% trust Trump

— This woman flew 2,597 miles across the country just so she could vote

— Cyber vulnerability briefly allowed users to manipulate Trump’s website

— In Little Saigon, a possible generational divide at the polls

— It looks like Trump might be doing his own tweeting for election night

— President Obama: ‘The sun will rise in the morning’

— How this election has revealed workplace sexism is still an issue

— President of the Mexico chapter of the GOP didn’t vote for Donald Trump

— Fear of a wall weighs on Latino voters in L.A.

— Two of L.A.’s oldest voters want you to vote

— Democratic challenger holds slim lead in North Carolina governor’s race, but GOP makes gains elsewhere

— Californians aren’t the only ones voting on marijuana, gun sales and the death penalty

— Trump sues to challenge early voting in Las Vegas area, which had big Latino turnout

— Artists create super PAC as performance art

— In Philadelphia neighborhoods where Trump warned of fraud, voters are sending a message back

— Not all immigrants are voting against Donald Trump

— In an upset, Melania Trump wears white to her husband’s victory rally

— Commentary: Donald Trump is our next president. What do we tell the children?

— Scenes from a Mexico City bar the night Donald Trump won the presidency

LOGISTICS

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